Scabby, Itchy Goat - Urgent Help

[Danielle]

I have had two pygmy goats now for 1.5 years. Since February one of our goats has been itching and scabs stated to appear around her stomach and bottom. We had the vet out and after steroid injections, mite treatment injections, lime surfur treatment (which just seemed to burn her skin) and a biopsy to check for mites, we where £500.00 down and no improvement. I then contacted the famr that I brought them off and they suggested changing the food, we did this two months ago, still no improvement.
So its not mites, and not her food, the other pygmy goat is fine but my poor goat is constantly itching, she has large sores, mainly in the areas that has less hair on. Stomach, bottom, around the ears where her id tags are.
Can anyone help or give options of what it could be and possible treatment.
I have just ordered some fungal treatment and will give that ago next.
Please help, its painful to watch her.
Thank you

 

[delilah]

Ask on the Accidental Smallholder forum, will be more goat people on there.

 

[michael N123]

Unless you really love it I’d stop spending money on it and put it out it’s misery....

but there’s a chance the vets wrong and it just needs dipped

and the £500 vet bill for a itchy goat sounds very steep!

 

[Danielle]

Hello Micheal

We did dip her but the lime sulphur just seemed to irritate her skin and it became inflamed and red.

We do love her, they are family pets.

 

[andybk]

Unless you really love it I’d stop spending money on it and put it out it’s misery....

but there’s a chance the vets wrong and it just needs dipped

and the £500 vet bill for a itchy goat sounds very steep!

they just add a 0 , totally out of touch with reality , i blame insurance policies for dogs , vets just name their price

 

[serf]

i blame insurance policies for dogs ,

Think ur bang on there

 

[texelburger]

Scrapie ????
They'll scratch and rub with it.Any signs of weight loss ?

 

[Al R]

Sheep scab?
Mineral deficiency- more so cobalt?

 

[michael N123]

What the feck is A lime sulphur dip?

 

[Gulli]

Frankly it sounds like your vet doesn't know. Stop throwing money at them and get a decent vet to take a skin scrape and look at it under a microscope to tell you what's actually going on

 

[Dry Rot]

Frankly it sounds like your vet doesn't know. Stop throwing money at them and get a decent vet to take a skin scrape and look at it under a microscope to tell you what's actually going on

It's not sheep scab, is it? I remember a case a few decades ago where no fewer than five yets missed a verbal description of the symptoms and the condition went undiagnosed for some time.

I'd try Spot On on a small area to make sure there is no adverse reaction as it is probably not licensed for goats. But it won't be licensed for horses or ferrets either but it worked for me! Just be careful.

 

[Gulli]

It's not sheep scab, is it? I remember a case a few decades ago where no fewer than five yets missed a verbal description of the symptoms and the condition went undiagnosed for some time.

I'd try Spot On on a small area to make sure there is no adverse reaction as it is probably not licensed for goats. But it won't be licensed for horses or ferrets either but it worked for me! Just be careful.

Would have thought the other goat would have it by now if it was.

In my experience nothing much is licensed for goats everything is prescribed off label use.

 

[milkloss]

Neighbour used spot on on his goats. Seemed like a major operation using gloves, two to hold and one to apply using a syringe...... each to their own though!!

I personally would throw the book at them... spot on then wormer at an appropriate time after. Different housing/bedding maybe I’d that didn’t work. Wouldn’t pay the vet too much more, any scrips should be free after those charges .....

 

[Al R]

I wonder what area @Danielle is in?

 

[MRT]

Take it to a skin specialist for allergy testing and your £500 will pale into insignificance

 

[The sheep dipper man]

Sounds like sheep scab or mainge to me seen it a few times in goats they can contract sheep scab just as easy as sheep can dip them with OP that should sort it out.

 

[Dry Rot]

Hello Micheal

We did dip her but the lime sulphur just seemed to irritate her skin and it became inflamed and red.

We do love her, they are family pets.

All the more reason to take the responsible approach and do the right thing. Sorry to be harsh but the goat won't know anything about it. It is the less attractive side of owning and breeding animals that comes along with the pleasure, however much we wish it didn't.

 

[Highland Mule]

Hello Micheal

We did dip her but the lime sulphur just seemed to irritate her skin and it became inflamed and red.

We do love her, they are family pets.

Use proper dip, not lime sulphur. Get in touch with a sheep farmer and get them all a good soak.

 

[letsmakemilk]

they just add a 0 , totally out of touch with reality , i blame insurance policies for dogs , vets just name their price

This old chestnut.
So, a company that employs staff that have medical degrees (who carry debt from this) so have to pay reasonable salaries (the average young farm vet salary is about the same as the average young herdsman) they also have to pay salaries to those that answer phones and so on, they own/rent a building to work out of, they provide their vets with vehicles which have a lifespan of 5-7 years doing country miles and their vets carry £20k of equipment to deal with any eventuality they might come across on your farm - all of this kit has a finite lifespan, they drive to your farm (in this case I imagine multiple times as it’s a “do everything it’s a pet” scenario), examine and treat your animal (in this case I imagine multiple times), take samples that they send to labs for testing (these labs also have their own costs) and pass these fees on, they then spend time on the phone to you, write up clinical notes for every case for the rare time a person decides they want to take legal action, they pay insurance for this, they pay their professional fees, they provide a vet within an hour for emergencies 24 hours a day 365 days a year (and have to pay for their out of hours answering service), they have to go on courses so that they can continue learning (which is necessary if they want to stay registered with the Rcvs).

So, out of touch? The only person out of touch here is you.

This is nothing to do with the OP and apologise for hijacking the thread, and l don’t disagree that £500 is more than I’d like to spend on a goat, but seeing vets slogging their guts out and people thinking these £500 bills go straight in to their pockets boils my blood.

 

[JSmith]

Would you be a vet by any chance???